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subsistence

[suhb-sis-tuhns] / səbˈsɪs təns /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond described his childhood subsistence on food stamps, free school lunches and surplus government cheese.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

In any case, he says, “in modern welfare states, the struggle for subsistence has been abolished.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Greenland's 57,000-strong population -- nearly 90 percent indigenous Inuit people -- has long traditions of hunting and fishing as the primary means of subsistence.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

"The recent expansion in employment reflects economic distress leading to subsistence work, rather than growth-driven better quality job creation," they say.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

The remaining obstacle to European would-be settlers was that European crops, livestock, and subsistence methods do poorly everywhere in the New Guinea environment and climate.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond




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